


The Missing Brick: Connecting Rebooted and the Tournament of Elements

by Emperor_Phoenix



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Adventure, F/M, M/M, Romance, Secrets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-26 02:41:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30099063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emperor_Phoenix/pseuds/Emperor_Phoenix
Summary: What happened between the end of the Rebooted season and the Tournament of Elements season? How did Zane get rebuilt? How did he and Pixal end up on Chen's Island? How did Chen find out Zane was still alive? This story will attempt to connect the dots as seamlessly as possible, while throwing in a bit of fluff for good measure. Rated T just in case. Enjoy.
Relationships: P.I.X.A.L./Zane (Ninjago)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 8





	1. Digital Resurrection

**Author's Note:**

> Dear Readers,
> 
> Please read this introduction, it is important!
> 
> This fanfic has been written in its entirety, from start to finish. In other words, this story already has pre-determined ending. No waiting months for the next chapter; it is already written, and merely needs to be posted.
> 
> This one in particular is my attempt at filling in the gaps between the Rebooted season and the Tournament of Elements season. As such, I have tried to keep the characters as true as possible, however, owing to the fluff parts between Zane and Pixal, sometimes this accuracy falls to the wayside.
> 
> I am aware that a canonical reason has been given for Zane being on Chen's Island, but it is vague and gives no real details, so here we are.
> 
> But first, a few notes:-
> 
> 1) Canonically speaking, Ninjago takes place in a universe which fuses Japanese and Chinese cultures and language. As my current knowledge is limited to Japanese culture (I've been there 3 times and have learned the language to a basic conversational level), you will find Japanese words and etiquettes detailed within. I'm doing a Japanese degree at university currently and hope to become a translator.
> 
> 2)There are some new characters, however, they are not self-inserts, neither are they perfect; they have their own faults, their own history and their own problems. I created them for the purpose of world building and explaining how Zane got his body back and ended up on Chen's island.
> 
> 3)I want to reiterate that I have tried to keep canonical personality and speaking rhythms among the characters, but it may falter on occasion because of the fluff between Zane and Pixal.
> 
> 4)There are some things that will be brought up in one chapter that will not be resolved until a later chapter, so please save your questions for the end of submission. If after reading the whole story, you see a plot hole or don't understand the logistics of something, don't hesitate to get in touch.
> 
> 5)Lastly, bear in mind that I am British, so while I have made an effort to write in a way that Americans will understand as well (i.e. writing "paper towels" instead of "kitchen roll"), some British mannerisms, slang terms and idioms have slipped through because I couldn't find the American equivalent.
> 
> Thank you and I hope you enjoy my efforts.
> 
> Phoenix

**Digital Resurrection**

The snow was falling, the sun was getting low, and Pixal trudged on along the snowy mountain top with a marked determination in her eyes. She had been travelling for several hours now, following a GPS route that had taken her far away from the familiarity of New Ninjago city. This was a most important journey, nothing was going to stop her – not even the voice inside which warned her of the dangers she could be facing.

"We are almost there." She said out loud.

There had been a very interesting start to this day, she still struggled to believe the amazing events which had led to her being on this icy precipice…

**_Earlier that day, in the morning…_ **

_She leaned against the window, her heart full of unbridled sadness, watching from above as the funeral service came to a close; the ninja stood together by Zane's new memorial statue while a gentle snow began to fall. She sighed. It's not like she didn't want to go – Cyrus Borg had specifically offered her the day off and an escorted ride – but it was just too painful._

_Suddenly the screens of the nearby console flashed to life and Zane's face appeared. CCTV footage from the past few weeks played back, his voice rang out of the speakers and electrical signals visibly jolted from screen to screen. Pixal gasped and ran down to the manufacturing floor as fast as she could, the possibilities running through her mind as she burst through the doors and leaping onto the conveyor belt._

_That's when it happened._

" _Are we… compatible now?" Zane asked._

_As she stood on the assembly line, surrounded by the machining arms, she could have burst with joy at hearing Zane's voice once again. He was back!_

_Well, sort of._

" _Zane!" She squeaked happily. "But, how?"_

" _The Overlord destroyed my body, but I managed to upload my digital subconscious to Cyrus Borg's system in the final moments," Zane replied, his voice echoing out of the speakers above her. "I would have found you sooner, only breaking through the inner layer of firewalls was more complicated than I thought."_

" _I cannot tell you how good it is to hear your voice," She smiled. "oh! We must tell your friends, they will be thrilled!"_

" _No!" He yelled, feeling slightly guilty as Pixal jumped from his sudden shouting. "No, we cannot tell them, not yet anyway."_

" _But… they are your friends, they will want to know that you are safe."_

" _Please, Pixal, I am no use to the team without my body." Zane sighed._

" _Could we perhaps rebuild it?" She wondered. "We have plenty of resources here, I am certain Mr Borg would not mind."_

" _We could, but it is not that simple, we would need to go back to my father's underground lab and find my blueprints," He explained. "to do so would put you at great inconvenience, not to mention great danger if the Treehorns have returned – I could not ask such a huge favour."_

" _I'll do it!" She insisted, the resolve in her voice ringing out._

_Zane chuckled._

_For her to show such determination was admirable. More than that, he was flattered that she thought so much of him that she was willing to do this. But he was still concerned about what he was asking of her. Aside from the adventure she had taken with them defeating the Overlord, she had spent her whole life in New Ninjago, and most of that time was arguably spent in this tower assisting Cyrus Borg. Her lack of experience in the wider world frightened him._

" _I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I am still hesitant for you to make the journey alone." Zane remarked._

_Pixal looked thoughtful for a moment, before eagerly grinning._

" _There is a spare hard drive in the system upstairs, can you reroute your subconscious into it?" She asked._

" _I can, what did you have in mind?" He wondered._

" _I will explain, but for now, find the empty '/L:' drive," Pixal smiled again. "I will meet you there."_

_Suddenly the green lights that surrounded her all went dark._

_She leapt from the assembly line and bolted back up the stairs. The power source inside her began to swell with excitement as she gleefully launched herself back toward the main console room – such was the exhilaration and relief that came with knowing that Zane was still here. Losing him was an excruciating experience, she had never known such agony before. Time seemed to stop. His friends busied themselves making funeral arrangements, though Nya had stopped by every day to console her. Even Mr Borg seemed to have understood her pain, offering her 'compassionate leave' and checking up on her much more frequently than usual._

" _Zane, are you here?" She called out as she approached the console._

_His face appeared on one of the monitors and he smiled at her warmly; she almost fell to her knees again at the mere sight of him._

" _I found the drive, I am fully transferred onto it." Zane said._

" _Good." Pixal retrieved the drive, and his face disappeared from the screen as she removed it._

_She opened her chest cavity. For a moment, she held the precious hard drive to her face, still warm from the transfer. She reached in and attempted to locate a spare SATA cable – she knew she had one somewhere… ah, there it was, behind the power source Zane had given to her. Pixal paused for a moment, moved by the generous gesture he had made when the power had been switched off; he risked his life to save her, and they had only known each other a few days at the time._

_With a beaming smile, she plugged the SATA cable into the hard drive. A rush of electricity swept across her body, and a familiar face appeared on her interior vision._

_["Pixal…"] Zane murmured. ["You're a genius!"]_

" _You are right, I cannot do this alone," Pixal mused. "only you know the exact whereabouts of your father's lab."_

_["Will you be okay doing this?"] Zane asked, concerned about the long distance ahead of them._

" _With the gift you gave me, our mission is guaranteed to be a success!" She said, tucking the hard drive below her glowing heart and closing her chest cavity. "There is one thing I need to do first."_

Pixal stopped for a moment.

"Zane, could you locate the entrance and relay the coordinates back to me?"

["Of course,"] He replied, updating the coordinates on Pixal's internal map. ["I am very thankful to you for doing this."]

"It's my pleasure," She softly spoke as she walked a little further, following the new route. "I cannot tell you how pleased I am to have you back."

["Well, thank you…"] He said, looking mildly flustered.

She rather enjoyed seeing his sheepish smile on her interior vision, she was especially glad to have him with her physically; it might have been easier and safer to leave the hard drive in the console and rely on high strength signals to have his assistance, but there was a certain amount of comfort in having the drive with her.

["There,"] He suddenly said. ["do you see the tree with the symbol carved into it?"]

Pixal walked over to the tree Zane spoke of. It was larger than the other trees, having a wide trunk and the vague outline of a door around the symbol he'd mentioned. She reached out and opened the door. Slightly wary, she paused and looked in, seeing a spiral staircase winding around the outside of the large, cylindrical room. A flashlight popped out of her left shoulder and shone into the darkened area.

As she slowly descended the long set of stairs, she couldn't help but notice Zane's expression turn quite soft and nostalgic. He had said that this is the place where he was built and raised by his father, Dr Julien. Though she did not have such an emotional attachment to her place of manufacture, she did understand the feeling of having a paternal role model; Mr Borg was very much like a father to her, even if it hadn't started that way. So much was her daughterly respect for Mr Borg that she felt the need to get his permission before she went on this little trek.

**_Earlier that day, still in the morning…_ **

_Cyrus Borg was busy in his office, making sure all was well with the system. He had just been to Zane's funeral service, and as he went from screen to screen checking power levels, his thoughts drifted to Pixal. His dear assistant had not been herself since that day, her heart ostensibly broken by the loss she had suffered. She was so devastated she couldn't even bring herself to go to the service with him – she didn't want to say goodbye, no doubt. Cyrus had tried to keep an eye on her as much as he could, but having experienced his own losses, he knew that no amount of coddling would help her._

_The more he thought about it, the more he had come to see Pixal as a daughter, rather than just an assistant. She was supposed to be one of many, the prototype AI for a brand-new line of personal assistant robots. But somewhere along the line, her personality evolved – perhaps the AI was smarter than he realised – and she became so much more than her intended purpose._

" _Mr. Borg, may I have a moment of your time?"_

_Cyrus turned to see Pixal standing in the doorway._

" _Hello my dear," he smiled. "what can I do for you?"_

" _I wondered if it would possible for me to take some time off," She asked, bowing politely. "I wish to pay respects to Zane at the place of his origin."_

_Secretly, Cyrus was thrilled to see her getting out and about from the console room; she had been spending perhaps too much time there, looking at footage from the previous weeks and trying to hear Zane's voice once again._

" _Yes, of course, take all the time you need!" He smiled widely. "Would you like me to arrange a chaperoned car?"_

" _Thank you, sir, but it is not the sort of journey that can be taken by car – I assure you I am adequately equipped to handle it," She bowed again. "I have obtained the coordinates, with my advanced GPS system it is simply a matter of tracking a route to the exact geographic location."_

" _Well, if you are certain," Cyrus nodded. "I do have one request however…"_

" _Anything." She responded cheerfully._

" _You must allow me to track your location as you go, and you must use your internal S.O.S button if there is an emergency," He mentioned. "Zane sacrificed himself to save this city, I can't have anything bad happening to you too."_

_Pixal saw Zane nodding in agreement on her internal vision._

" _I agree to your terms, Mr. Borg." She replied._

_Cyrus approached her, his face overflowing with pride at the droid before him._

" _You truly are my greatest achievement." He softly spoke._

_The depth of the situation seemed to affect him in a way he didn't expect. He looked away for a moment, as he felt tears in his eyes that threatened to fall._

" _Now run along," He insisted, wiping away the errant fluid building up on his cheeks. "I don't know how far you have to go, but you should gear up all the same."_

_Pixal gave a deep, sincere bow, before giving her employer a gentle hug. She then ran out the door and made her way back to the console room. As she spun around with the buzz of adventure running through her circuits, Zane was laughing joyously. Suddenly she stopped._

_["Is everything alright?"] Zane asked._

" _I am just wondering what will be required for this," Pixal thought out loud. "Mr Borg is correct, we should prepare for such a journey."_

_["The last time we were there, we had gone through a desert and a snowy mountain range, and my falcon was leading the way; we didn't know where we were going so we had to run just to keep up with it,"] He explained. ["this time I have the exact coordinates."]_

" _How long do you think it will take us to get there?"_

_["From New Ninjago? Depending on walking speed, we could be there by nightfall if we left now,"] He guessed, breathing out a heavy sigh. ["I can share with you my knowledge of Spinjitzu and other fighting techniques, but without my body I cannot protect you physically; that is what I meant when I said this could put you in danger."]_

" _I would do anything for you Zane," She said confidently. "and now that you are back, nothing can stop us."_


	2. Revisiting Origins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all!
> 
> This chapter introduces two characters I made for world building, but if you want an idea of what they look like, the first episode of Rebooted actually shows two random men who work at Borg Industries! I created the characters before this discovery, but they fit perfectly! Re-watch episode one (The Surge) and check out the two dudes right before the elevator crash :)
> 
> Also, thanks for the feedback and kudos, I really appreciate it x

** Revisiting Origins **

She didn't know what she'd need for the journey, but had eventually settled on taking a small stash of spare parts and, on Zane's insistence, copied and saved his combat moves to her protective reflex database. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she looked around. It was certainly a place of humble beginnings; Zane's level head and modest attitude were reflected in the unassuming home where he grew up.

["This is where I found out I was a droid,"] He mentioned. ["up until I found this place, I thought I was human – a strange human, but a human nonetheless."]

"Your old body must have been more advanced than I first assumed." She remarked.

["How do you mean?"] He wondered.

"You live in communal quarters with the other ninja, if you did not see a difference between yourself and your compatriots then your body must have been anatomically correct." She stated boldly, unaware of the implication she was making.

She noticed Zane's eyes go wide and he suddenly looked rather embarrassed. She was about to comment on it, but then something on the table caught her eye; the blueprints. She slowly approached the desk and reached out to pick up them up, only to trip on a loose floorboard. As Pixal hit the floor with a sickening thud, Zane panicked.

["Pixal!"] He yelled out worriedly.

"I'm alright." She assured him, sitting up.

This time something else caught her eye – through the gap created by the loose board being moved, a familiar blue light shone upwards. She shuffled over and looked in the space under the floor. The luminescence stroked her cheek; her face faintly lit up by the glow of a round radiant orb. She reached in and pulled it out; it was about the size of a mechanical alarm clock and the general shape of a hockey puck.

Zane couldn't believe what he was seeing.

["Another power source…"] He murmured with a half-smile on his face. ["even in death, my father is full of surprises."]

He always thought that his power source was one of a kind, and that he lost it forever when his body exploded during the fight with the Overlord. Pixal opened her chest plate and put the second power source next to Zane's drive. Shortly afterward, the purple circuit lines on her face and body began to light up. She looked at this sudden development with great curiosity.

"What's going on?" She wondered.

["The excess energy has to go somewhere,"] Zane theorised. [it might not be hooked up to anything, but it still gives off waves of electricity."]

"Of course, how could I forget." She said, remembering the residual shock she got when she first touched his power source not too long ago.

As she adjusted to this strange new feature, she stood up and once again walked toward the desk. Dusting off the stack of blueprints, she perused through them and had a first-hand look at Dr Julien's design work. There were plans for a robotic falcon, a cyborg dog, even some prototypes for prosthetic limbs. Then she found Zane's prints, only there were two different kinds – one was for the sweet, heroic droid she knew and the other appeared to be an unused draft for a much younger version of him.

"You were very cute as a baby." She grinned as she held it up.

["Thank you."] He smiled back, looking a little embarrassed.

She put the draft down and retrieved his adult blueprints, folding them neatly and placing them next to the secondary power source she found earlier.

["Would you mind if we stayed a few more minutes?"] Zane asked. ["I do not have the opportunity to come here very often."]

"Of course." Pixal replied with a smile.

She looked around at the unusual accommodation and wondered what Zane was like in those days. It slowly dawned on her that this was the furthest she had ever been from her home; she could only imagine that that's how Zane felt when he was away from here. He wasn't kidding when he said it was completely out of the way. Not that it made any difference to her – it could've been on the other side of the planet and she still would have gone on this journey for him.

**_Earlier that day, outside Borg Industries…_ **

" _This is quite exciting," She said as she strolled through the busy streets. "I don't get to see the city very much."_

_["I was concerned about that,"] Zane admitted. ["I did not know how often you get to leave the tower."]_

" _You must understand, while I only leave Borg Industries a handful of times a year, I am not a prisoner there," She mentioned. "I am highly aware of my surroundings and can handle myself among the general public."_

_["Forgive me,"] He sighed. ["I cannot help but be a little worried – you are going to great lengths to assist me, yet I am of little use in this form."]_

" _I'm just relieved that you are back," She paused for a moment, a coy smile gracing her lips as she touched her chest. "and... it is nice to have you near me."_

_Zane appeared to mirror her sheepishness. She looked at his image displayed on her interior screen; he looked down at his hands and momentarily tried to hide his blushing face. Eventually he looked up again._

_["It is... comforting to be close to you again, also."] He murmured._

_A contented, warm silence drifted between them. The loud, bustling sounds of the city rumbled around them, barely noticeable in the serene cloud of their own little world. They had not known each other long, but from the very first moment there was an undeniable spark between them. Pixal had never met a droid like him before, he was special; unique and powerful yet adorably vintage, technologically speaking._

_After a while, she found herself walking past a lush, green park. She stopped and realised where they were – the garden which held Zane's memorial statue. The ceremony was over, the ninja had gone, and the park was peaceful. As much as she wanted to stop and admire it, she thought it best to just keep going. Zane did not appear to have seen it, his eyes were glazed over, as though he were lost in a daydream. She recognised the look – she had been that way herself in the gap between Zane's sacrifice last week and his apparent resurrection this morning – though he held an expression of happiness whereas she had been wallowing in the depths of grief._

" _Zane, I still think it would bring your friends much joy to know you are back."_

_["I appreciate your concern,"] He stated. ["but I am, for all intent and purposes, incapacitated."]_

" _You place a lot of value of yourself as a ninja and a team member," Pixal noted. "you do not seem to see the value of yourself as an individual."_

_Zane thought over this for a moment._

" _You are so important, Zane, you should not underestimate the impact your sacrifice had on everyone," She said. "your friends were devastated when they thought you were…"_

_She couldn't continue, her voice failed her at the last moment. Zane could sense her distress; the familiar flare of the power source inside her was sending signals into the hard drive where he was temporarily housed. As she walked further away from the technologically advanced hub of New Ninjago, and into the wilds of the wider world, she could feel herself getting quite upset._

_["Pixal…"] Zane looked very concerned._

" _I am sorry, your sacrifice left a mark on us all." Pixal sniffled._

As Mr Borg's assistant, it was her job to be polite, helpful and accommodating, and in doing so she was no stranger to developing a rapport with people. The affinity she had with Zane was almost instantaneous, and beyond anything she ever had with the employees or visitors at Borg Industries. She couldn't deny that being a droid was what drew her to him in first place, but they seemed to have an immediate connection from the second that they met.

["Pixal, I am detecting a mid-size aircraft approaching our location."] Zane stated.

Pixal opened her chest cavity once more, only to see the S.O.S button flashing wildly.

"I appear to have accidentally pressed my built-in emergency button," She admitted, closing it over again. "it must have happened when I fell over."

["Well, at least it means we have a ride back to New Ninjago,"] He pointed out ["I was concerned about you walking back after dark and would have suggested staying here for the night."]

"I hope I have not caused Mr Borg undue distress." She said worriedly as she made her way back up the spiral stairs.

A few minutes later, a bright light shone in through the open door and the sound of whirring propeller blades hovered overhead. She stepped out and closed the carved door behind her, turning to see a helicopter parked about 10 feet away from the tree she came out of. The side door slid open with a heavy thud, and out came two of Cyrus' personal security guards; a pair of tall, black-suited, well-built gentlemen with a look of steely concern on their faces. One of them stood scouting the area while the other offered his hand to her.

"Miss Borg, if you will come with us please." The man spoke in a deep, rigid voice.

Startled by his choice of words, Pixal accepted his hand and he escorted her onto the helicopter. The other man soon joined them and slid the door shut, making sure everyone was secured in their seat before giving the pilot the okay to take off. The chopper surged into the air and headed in the direction of New Ninjago City. Pixal had been in helicopters before, so she was quite familiar with this method of transport. She was not, however, familiar with the formal way she had been addressed; no one had ever referred to her as 'Miss Borg' before, at least not to her face. She certainly didn't object to it – if anything it confirmed how much Mr Borg valued her – but it also made her more aware that the pressing of the S.O.S button was not something to be taken lightly.

["I am glad that he takes your safety so seriously,"] Zane said.

"I can only assume that after what happened to you during the final battle with the Overlord, he became more highly aware of the finite existence of a droid." Pixal whispered, trying not to draw the attention of the security personnel.

["How long have you been working for him again?"] He asked.

"I have been in service for over three years now," She quietly replied. "even when Mr Borg was just starting up his company, he always found time to make sure I was maintained."

["It must be something special about you, Pixal,"] He said. ["I was enamoured of you from the very first instant we met; it is no surprise to me that you are held in such high regard by your employer."]

"Did you find what you were looking for, Miss Borg?" asked the security officer sitting opposite.

Pixal looked up at him, still slightly startled by the way he addressed her.

"Yes, I did, thank you," She answered. "I did not mean to press the S.O.S button, and I hope Mr Borg is not too worried."

"He was more relieved that you were only about 20 miles away." He responded, trying to alleviate the young droid's concerns.

"I was the one who tracked your route on Mr Borg's behalf," The other officer spoke up. "it was a long way to come on your own, I wondered why you didn't use this bird to fly there; it would've been much easier."

"Benson, do not question the young lady's decision – this was clearly very important to her," the first officer snapped. "haven't you ever gone on a pilgrimage before?"

"Of course, I have!" Benson snapped back. "I'm a very spiritual person, but if I had a 20-mile journey to make and _my_ dad had access to a helicopter, I'd be asking to use it."

"Mr Borg had offered me transport, but Mr…" Pixal took a quick look at the officer's name badge. "…Hedges is correct, this journey was vital to me, and doing it myself was equally important."

"If you don't mind me asking, why do you refer to your father so formally?" Hedges wondered.

"I… I am his personal assistant; part of my programming is to address people formally."

"Judging by his reaction to your S.O.S, he definitely sees you as more than an assistant…" Benson added.

" _Benson_!" Hedges hissed.

"What? You saw how he was when I told him the S.O.S signal was going off… ‘My little girl is in danger! Quickly, get the Sikorsky!’." Benson imitated, referring to the helicopter they were sitting in.

Hedges slapped his hand to his forehead. He knew Benson was having some problems at home, but that did not excuse his frequent slackness when they were out on important assignments like this. The two of them went way back, having met in high school and been bros ever since, but it was only because of Hedges' father having some influence that they even got this job. Hedges decided they would have to have a serious man-to-man talk when the helicopter landed. Fortunately, they were now flying over the city limits and toward the Borg Industries tower.


	3. Back to Borg Industries

As they came in to land on the helipad, they saw that Mr Borg was waiting for them. Pixal looked out the window and waved to him; a big, relieved smile swept across his face. The pilot gently settled the helicopter down and turned off the engine. He then gave a thumbs up to Hedges. Hedges took off his seatbelt and slid the door open, assisting Pixal in getting out safely. Benson was about to leave the helicopter also, but Hedges stopped him, and shot him a disapproving look.

Meanwhile, as Pixal stepped out, Mr Borg wheeled over to her.

"I cannot tell you how thankful I am that you are back!" He said throwing his arms in the air.

"My apologies Mr Borg," She bowed. "I accidentally pressed the S.O.S button when I fell over."

"Think no more of it, my dear, I'm just so happy that you are home safe and sound," He insisted, suddenly noticing the glowing purple lines on her body. "I say, what happened here?"

"Well… it's a long story…" She mentioned.

"Come, we'll go to my office and you can tell me all about it," He said, smiling at her. "I'm very interested to hear about your trip – from the look of the route we tracked you making, you went on quite the adventure!"

Pixal walked alongside him as they made their way to the elevator. He pushed a button and the doors opened. Mr Borg gestured for her to enter first, smiling as he did so. She bowed and walked in, holding the door for him. The doors closed, the elevator went down a couple of floors and opened into his office. Mr Borg once more allowed her to go first, happily following her into the office. He energetically went behind his desk and turned to smile at her, only to see her looking rather anxious. Then he remembered that she went on that journey to pay her respects to Zane. His face fell slightly.

"I'm so sorry my dear, for a moment there I forgot the purpose of your trip," He admitted, feeling a little embarrassed to have been so jovial. "please, sit down."

"Mr Borg," Pixal began as she sat down opposite him. "I was not completely honest with you about the reason I wanted to go."

He raised an eyebrow, slightly confused.

"I went to get Zane's blueprints…" She confessed. Cyrus shook his head and sighed.

"Pixal…" He interrupted sternly. "I really am sorry for your loss, but this is not the right way to grieve."

"But Zane is not gone," She insisted, tapping on her chest with her hand. "he is here, with me."

"Of course," He said, looking slightly relieved. "you are right, Zane is still with us as long as we remember him."

"You misunderstand me sir," She sighed. "I mean I literally have him here."

Pixal opened her chest cavity and pulled out the blueprints, then the second power source. Her circuits stopped glowing and she reached for the hard drive containing Zane's subconscious. She stopped and looked at Zane on her internal vision, he was worriedly shaking his head.

["Please, Pixal, do not tell him – we cannot risk word getting back to my team until my body is rebuilt."] Zane pleaded.

"Zane, we can trust Mr Borg," She whispered. "and we need his permission to rebuild you here."

Cyrus Borg looked at her curiously, as it appeared that she was talking to herself. She nervously grinned.

["Okay, but if it is all the same to you, I would prefer to stay here in the meantime."] He conceded.

"That is fine by me." She smiled widely, feeling reassured that she could keep him somewhere safe.

She got up from her seat and kneeled beside Mr Borg, who still had no idea what was going on. Retrieving a cable from the back of her neck, she plugged it into the laptop on his desk. To his amazement, Pixal's interior vision was displayed on the screen and there was Zane, waving at him.

" _Hello Mr Borg."_ Zane beamed.

"Zane!" He exclaimed. "But… but… how? The fight… the explosion… we all saw it!"

" _I redirected my digital subconscious just before the explosion,"_ Zane told him. _"it took a few days, but I managed to get into an access point – I had to find Pixal, and I needed to reach her as soon as possible."_

Cyrus noted the expression on Pixal's face slowly turn coy, and a kittenish grin appeared as Zane spoke of her.

"Ooh… so, _this_ is why my Pixal suddenly perked up." Cyrus stated, highly impressed with Zane's ingenuity.

" _Uh, I suppose so, yes,"_ Zane replied as he sheepishly rubbed his arm. _"she bravely put herself on the line for me, she insisted on helping me find my blueprints and she also found a spare power source."_

"Yes, she is a marvellous young lady," Cyrus agreed, proudly patting her on the shoulder. "so, I take it you would like to rebuild your body."

" _I know it is a lot to ask…"_

"Nonsense, it's the least I can do for the hero of New Ninjago! I will clear one of the manufacturing floors, so you can work privately," He said. "the machinery is at your disposal, as well as any materials or other resources you may need."

" _Thank you very much, Mr Borg,"_ Zane bowed. _"however, I must ask yet another favour."_

"Hmm?"

" _This must be kept a secret,"_ Zane appealed to him. " _you must deny having seen Pixal."_

"Why Pixal?" Cyrus wondered.

" _If anyone on the outside found out she was holed up on one of the manufacturing floors working on a secret project, it might arouse suspicion,"_ Zane insisted. _"if my team should get wind of it, then it will only be a matter of time before they figure it out – it is critical that no one knows I am still alive until I have rebuilt myself."_

"Consider it done – if anyone asks, I shall say I haven't seen her since before the memorial service," Cyrus smiled. "and I'll inform my employees that we are now on the highest tier of company confidentiality."

" _Thank you."_

Pixal removed the cable from the laptop, and it retracted into her neck. With the screen now blank, Cyrus turned to her, astounded by her initiative and courage.

"You could have told me from the start, you know?" He mentioned. "I would've understood."

"I did not want to seem demanding, nor did I want to betray Zane's trust," She answered. "he was insistent on keeping his return a secret, but I knew I would have to tell you eventually."

"Well, now we know," He grinned. "it's getting late, and you've had a long day, perhaps you should rest up for tonight and tomorrow you can get started on the rebuild."

"Thank you, Mr Borg." She stood up once more, collecting the power source and blueprints that were still sitting on the desk.

"You're very welcome, my dear."

Pixal bowed politely and walked away, getting into the elevator with a great sense of relief.

She stretched out her right hand, and a key protruded out from her palm. She put the key into the button panel and turned her hand to the left. A previously unlit button suddenly flashed green, and she pressed it with her other hand. The elevator closed, and it travelled smoothly down several floors before stopping about hallway down the building. When she removed the key from the panel, the door opened. She stepped out, the door slowly closed behind her and seemed to go back up to the floor where they'd gotten on.

["Is this your room?"] Zane asked, trying to take in the rather extravagant surroundings.

"Yes, once the tower was completed, Mr Borg presented it to me as a gift." Pixal replied while she walked over to a pile of large, plush cushions and sat down on them.

He glanced around at the cavalcade of purple, plush surroundings, the deep maroon painted walls, and the soft, warm lighting that made the whole room just seem so cosy and comfortable. Admittedly, it did not look like the room of a personal assistant – it looked more like the boudoir of a young heiress or debutante.

"I used to come here at night to recharge… well, back when I had to recharge anyway." She smiled, remembering the day she woke up to find that Zane had given her half of his heart.

["I suppose being a successful CEO enables him to be charitable."] Zane noted.

"Oh yes, he shows gratitude to all the people who work here," She nodded. "he frequently hosts company-wide parties and always rewards outstanding employees."

["Now it makes sense."] He said plainly.

"What does?" She asked.

["You're the most outstanding employee he has, no wonder he gave you this private room."]

She lightly chuckled, grinning to herself contentedly and toying with the power source in her hand, glancing over the blueprints as she did so. She couldn't help but think about how different her attitude was this morning compared to now. It had been a very long day and a rollercoaster of emotions; great alleviation in knowing that Zane was still alive, nervousness for the long journey, but also guilt from keeping such good news a secret from his friends.

["Pixal, you have gone quiet, are you alright?"] Zane wondered.

"I'm just thinking about how sad I was this morning – my heart felt like it had shattered," She admitted, leaning back onto the cushions, and hugging his blueprints close to her chest. "I was starting to feel like part of me had died with you."

Zane's face fell, and a sudden sombre feeling dawned on him. There was never any question that taking out the Overlord was the right thing to do and sacrificing himself was the only way to do it. Of course, he understood loss and how hard it is for those left behind – he had lost his father after all; twice – but he clearly underestimated the emotional devastation he would leave in his wake.

["It was the only option and I had to do it,"] Zane reasoned. ["for my friends, for all of Ninjago… for you…"]

"Oh Zane…" She squeaked as she began to cry.

["Please do not get upset, everything is okay now; we have the blueprints and a power source,"] He reminded her, panicking slightly. ["we will rebuild my body, reunite with my team and everything will go back to normal – I promise."]

She seemed to be comforted by that promise, as her distressed sobbing slowly dissolved into reassured sniffling.

"My apologies," She said, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "the memories are still fresh, and my emotions must have gotten the better of me."

["Well, you have had a long day, perhaps now would be a good time for you to go into sleep mode."] He suggested.

"My sleep mode has not been functioning as a result of what happened last week," Pixal admitted. "I will do a system check to see if it is working now."

He smiled sincerely at her. She trusted his judgement, and he was right about it being a long day. Pixal secreted the blueprints and power source into her chest cavity for safekeeping, rolling off the pile of cushions and walking toward the large round bed in the corner. She sat on the edge of the bed and fell back onto the plush cotton bed covers. When she was first gifted this room, she was intrigued to discover that the bed base was in fact a wireless charger. The first time she sat on it was something of a shock, as it glowed purple, and her internal battery began charging without the use of a connector wire. Now that she had a more permanent energy source, the bed had lost its dual purpose and simply became a safe, comfortable place to rest.

Pixal reached under the pillow and pulled out something white and silver, which she held close to her. This peaked Zane's curiosity as whatever it was looked very familiar to him.

["What is that?"] He asked.

She looked down at the fabric in her hands and suddenly felt a little self-conscious.

"It is one of your spare uniforms," She confessed. "Nya brought it to me the day after… well, you know… she thought it would help to comfort me."

["And did it?"] He wondered.

"Yes, especially with my sleep mode being out of operation," She said, holding the uniform closer. "even though it reminded me that you were gone, it also reminded me that I had you in my life – if only for a short time."

Suddenly there was a loud ping sound. The system check was complete and, not altogether surprisingly, her sleep mode was once again fully operational. It was expected, seeing as the trauma she sustained had been soothed with Zane's return, though she wondered if there would be unexpected consequences; droids typically do not dream, but these were not typical circumstances. As she felt herself drifting into electrical hibernation, the last thing she saw was the image of Zane waving at her, and she couldn't help but smile.


	4. Rebuild Commenced

** Rebuild Commenced **

"Thank you both for working overtime yesterday," Mr Borg said to the security officers accompanying him. "I must say how much I appreciate the speed with which you rescued my dear Pixal."

"All part of the job sir." Hedges replied.

"It was a pleasure," Benson agreed. "She's a lovely girl."

"That'll do, Benson." Hedges said, giving him a funny look.

"It's not in your usual duties I know, but it is vital to maintain top level security on this particular floor," Cyrus mentioned. "I know I can trust you."

"It's highly unusual to seal off a manufacturing room," Benson noted. "may we ask why all the secrecy?"

Hedges pinched the back of Benson's neck and gave him another disapproving stare.

"Just a private project of Pixal's, but I can't stress how important it is to keep this confidential." Mr Borg insisted.

"Yes sir!" They answered in unison.

"Well, carry on gentlemen!" He said cheerfully as he went about his day.

Hedges turned to Benson and glared at him sternly.

"Did you even listen to a word I said yesterday? After all that Overlord stuff we can't afford to be lax about in-house security," Hedges reminded him. "I'll guard the main entrance; you man this elevator and make sure no one stops on this floor."

"What about the other elevator?"

"It's been fixed, but only Mr Borg has access to it for the time being." Hedges explained.

"Okay, you go take up your post and I'll call you if there's any trouble." Benson replied.

"Listen, I know about your extenuating circumstances, but if you slip up on this one, I'll see to it that you get relegated to the parking lot!" Hedges grunted angrily.

"Hey, I know you're serious, no need to threaten me over it." Benson stated.

"You're in the big leagues now, you've got to start taking this seriously," Hedges responded. "and you aren't the only one with problems."

With that, Hedges turned on his heel and brusquely walked away.

"Jeez, that guy is such a tyrant sometimes." Benson mumbled to himself once his partner was out of earshot.

He strolled over to the elevator just as it arrived on this floor. Benson steeled himself and prepared to redirect whoever was in it, only to find that it was Pixal herself, arriving to start her secret project. He gave her a warm, friendly smile and bowed politely.

"Ah, Miss Borg, good morning!" He said as he stepped to one side.

"Good morning, Mr Benson," She smiled, walking out of the elevator and onto the factory floor. "I did not expect to see you here."

"Your fath- uh, Mr Borg requested that Hedges and me, make sure this floor remains guarded," He explained. "Hedges is keeping watch outside the main doors and I'm going to stay in the elevator and make sure no one comes here while you're working."

"I appreciate your assistance." She bowed.

"Here, take this," He handed her a walkie talkie. "you can use it to contact me or Hedges anytime, should you require our help, or if there's a sudden emergency."

"Thank you." She smiled warmly at him.

He smiled back, then quickly stepped into the elevator and gently waved as the doors closed.

["Was that one of the officers who was in the helicopter last night?"] Zane asked.

"Yes," Pixal replied. "they must be one of Mr Borg's top teams if he trusted them to guard us."

["They must also be new, given that you did not recognise either of them yesterday."] He remarked.

"They were hired shortly before you and your friends came for the field trip – yesterday was the first time I had extended interactions with them," She answered. "as I understand it, Mr Hedges' father is a close, highly regarded friend of Mr Borg."

Pixal, eager to get started on the rebuild, pulled out the blueprint from her chest and set it on a nearby drafting table. She had been looking at them on-and-off yesterday, and although she was confident that the build would go well, she was slightly concerned; the blueprints – being an older draft – contained a number of outdated technologies. She feared that replacing any of the older connections with a modern equivalent would affect Zane's ice powers, maybe even his ability to use Spinjitzu.

"Zane, I do not wish to worry you, but I'm very worried about my capability to rebuild your body." She stated.

["I'm not worried, you have fixed me in the past, it should be no trouble for you."] He replied confidently.

"Thank you, but logistically I have some serious concerns," She nervously looked over the more intricate connections. "some of this technology is no longer used in general manufacture, and while I can easily find modern substitutes, I fear it will disrupt your elemental and ninja skills."

["Yes, I see what you mean..."] He agreed. ["Well, if we can obtain the older parts we need, we could always just replicate the older circuitry, and build the body itself from new materials."]

Pixal paused to think. She went onto the computer and began typing furiously. She glanced at the elements listed on the blueprints many notes and relayed them into the search function. Zane watched her select a number of folders and opened them in subsequent, smaller file windows. He wondered what she was trying to find as she proceeded to access the Borg Industries intranet and compiled a list of everything they needed… and where they could get it.

A wide smile appeared on her face.

"I have good news," She beamed. "this floor has a vast inventory on hand, and according to the most recent manifest, it is backdated enough to safely reconstruct your circuitry."

Zane once again found himself impressed by Pixal and her consistent thoroughness and attention to detail. He hadn't even considered the complicated nature of the inner workings that went into his old body.

"We will still need to make some base substitutions for your internal restorations, but they will not interfere with your ability to fight," She said confidently. "and we have a wide variety of options for the outer shell; tungsten, steel, chromium... I favour titanium myself."

["Hmm... 'Titanium Ninja'... I like it."] He grinned.

"I was hoping you would, titanium is a fascinating metal – heat resistant, lightweight, corrosion proof," She explained. "there have been developments for a titanium alloy that is lighter and more heat resistant than solid titanium, it would be advantageous for all the travelling and fighting that you do."

["You certainly know a lot about metallurgy, I don't even know what my old body was made of."]

"Based on personal experience, I'd say it was carbon steel, with your muscular structure consisting of nitinol," She casually mentioned. "and I have always been interested in metallurgy and gemmology, they are quite intriguing subjects."

["Gemmology?"] He queried. ["I did not know Borg Industries was involved in that kind of science."]

"Mr Borg's main focus has always been modern technology, but he has side-lines in geology, metallurgy, gemmology, textile manufacture, not to mention endocrinology, neuroscience and pharmacology." She replied. "everything is designed and manufactured here; computers, prosthesis, kimono, jewellery, medicines – in fact, this floor is ordinarily used for public defence projects."

["The blackout must have affected this place more than I realised…"] He muttered.

"I wonder if a Kevlar-titanium weave would work better…" She said, completely changing the subject.

["Pardon?"] Zane asked with confusion.

"I am sorry, I was thinking about the material for your musculature and got side-tracked looking at alternatives to nitinol," She admitted. "Kevlar-titanium weave is equally flexible and a lot stronger, the only problem is that it may add weight."

He couldn't think of anything to say at this point, she was taking the lead in a way he had never seen before – he was quite impressed actually, it was as if she did this sort of thing regularly.

Perhaps she did.

After all, as Mr Borg's assistant, her duties were not obvious on the surface; she could be assisting anywhere in the building on Mr Borg's orders. For all he knew she was in a different department everyday unless Mr Borg needed her for something specific.

"Even then it depends on what type of Kevlar we use, there's K119 which has higher elongation so it's flexible, but KM2 would offer more protection as it's used for armour…" She thoughtfully put her hand on her chin and looked upward, carefully thinking over their options. "well, it is your body so it is your decision, but since you are a ninja, I would recommend K119."

When she received no response, Pixal looked at her inner screen and noticed Zane's infatuated expression. She softly grinned. He clearly appreciated her meticulous approach to this rebuild. She was always a precise individual, but there was a degree of overprotection motivating her as well; this new body of his was going to be her magnum opus – such a shell had never been produced for droid purposes before. Mr Borg also happened to give them the city defences research and development floor, so everything was there and ready to use.

"Operations will proceed quicker if we each work on a separate part," She said, glancing over the prints again. "would you prefer to make the body or the circuitry?"

["I will work on the body – if you plug my hard drive back into the main computer I can operate from within the system,"] He answered. ["the circuits are more complicated; they require an accurate eye and a steady hand – I know you are proficient in this."]

She was warmed by his confidence in her capability. She opened her chest and reached for Zane's hard drive, but hesitated. Was she afraid to remove him from the safe place near her heart? The heart that he himself had given her? Partly, yes.

She gently removed the SATA cable that connected his drive to her system; it was not difficult, there was no static shock nor any resistance from the cables, but holding the drive in her hand and not seeing his face still caused a degree of pain. She quickly shuffled over to the main computer and pulled off the panel at the side of it. She gently placed the drive by the motherboard and plugged it in.

Quickly she stepped away, looking at the screen nervously. Suddenly Zane appeared, waving at her with a smile. Pixal let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding and waved back.

"Zane, are you okay?" She wondered. "Can you see me?"

 _"Yes, there is a webcam fitted in the monitor."_ He responded.

"Thank goodness, I was worried for a moment." She sighed. "I will upload the blueprints onto the computer, then we can get started."

 _"Great,"_ Zane smiled as Pixal picked up the prints and walked over to the scanner. _"and Pixal, one more thing."_

She turned to see him looking at her with a soft, affectionate expression.

 _"Thank you again…"_ He murmured. _"I could not do it without you."_

* * *

"Jeez, what a day!" Benson said, stretching out his arms.

"It wasn't that bad." Hedges corrected.

"For you maybe, after all you were just stood in one place," Benson noted. "I was the one who was stuck in the elevator all day; up and down, up and down – it was exhausting!"

Hedges rolled his eyes.

"Well, at least we're not doing overtime tonight."

"Thank goodness for that!" Benson rubbed his eyes. "You know, when Johnson came to take over for me in the elevator I could've cried."

"This project of Miss Borg's must be quite important for Mr Borg to request overnight guards as well," Hedges adjusted his wristwatch and glanced back to the guard who had taken over from him.

"It could just be a ploy to make her feel better, maybe he gave her a difficult assignment to distract herself with," Benson theorised. "she hasn't been right since that ninja sacrificed himself to destroy the Overlord, the poor girl probably had a crush on him."

"The way Mr Borg told it, she was in love with him," Hedges whispered. "and it seemed as though he felt the same, they were getting close and then… well… you know."

"It's really quite tragic," Benson spoke sadly. "I mean, she finally finds someone just like herself, he reciprocates her feelings and then he gives up his life to save Ninjago."

"I dare say it's affecting her quite badly, I overheard her talking to him and he was talking back," Hedges confessed. "it must have been some recordings she made when he was still around."

"You don't think she's… _malfunctioning…_ do you?" Benson wondered.

"What? No way! Miss Borg is a state-of-the-art piece of machinery, with the most advanced AI known to man."

"I don't know…" Benson shook his head. "heartbreak does funny things to people, and if her AI is advanced as you say it is, there's every chance that her robotic heart is as broken as yours after that Brandy woman dumped you."

Hedges gave Benson a dubious look as they headed toward the back exit of the Borg Industries tower. Yes, he was pretty beat up after that relationship ended, but it was him that had done the dumping, not her. She was a wonderful woman, but not the sort he could settle down with, she was too wild and their respective life directions were just too different for their relationship to work long term.

But still, it was very strange for Mr Borg to have any night guards on specific floors. The only time he had overnight officers for added protection was when the Overlord was causing problems – everything was powered down, even the back-up generator for the CCTV, so extra guards were a necessity.

Hedges was marginally suspicious, especially after that company-wide memo stating that all personnel were to deny having seen Pixal since the day of the memorial service.

What if the voices he heard were not recordings, what if something else was going on…?

"Fancy going out for a quick drink?" Benson asked.

"Sure, in fact, let's go to Mr Chen's noodle bar," Hedges countered. "then we can get something to eat as well."


	5. Continued Construction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello reader, I hope you are enjoying the story! From this chapter onwards, I will start putting in definitions for any Japanese words used, to aid your understanding of what's going on. Enjoy!
> 
> Hakama - wide leg, pleated trousers worn by samurai and ninja alike; still worn today by Japanese people for formal events and by Westerners for cosplay and general appreciation.
> 
> Genbu - an ancient Chinese deity associated with the season of winter, control of the north and worshipped as the god of the moon. I thought this was quite poignant considering Zane's powers.

It was getting quite late, most of the employees had gone home, and only the security staff were still in the building. Mr Borg made his way to the floor where Pixal was working on Zane's new body. He got into the elevator and was greeted by Mr Johnson of the security personnel.

"Good evening Sir," Johnson smiled. "which floor?"

"City defences, R&D please." He replied.

Johnson pressed the corresponding button and patiently waited while the elevator closed and took them up the building.

"I am so sorry for Miss Borg's loss." Johnson mentioned quietly.

"Oh, thank you," Mr Borg replied sadly. "yes, my dear Pixal has not been herself since it all happened."

"I heard she went on a pilgrimage to his birthplace, to pay her respects."

"Yes indeed, I was very glad too, she had spent far too much time dwelling in the console room," Mr Borg explained. "you know she walked for miles – through the Sea of Sand, she went up a great mountain, then through a blizzard in the Glacier Barrens; would you believe she ended up in Birchwood Forest?"

"That's a good 20 miles away!" Johnson surmised. "He must have meant a lot to her."

"Yes… I wish I could do more to help," Cyrus sighed. "still, at least she's out of the console room."

"Forgive me, but would it be beyond my station to ask what she's working on?" Johnson tentatively wondered.

"I wish I knew myself," Mr Borg lied. "but I am grateful that she's keeping busy instead of moping."

The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. Mr Borg exited onto the floor where Pixal was doing her rebuild, and waved goodbye to Johnson as the doors closed behind him. He approached the main computer panel and soon noticed that Pixal was sat, leaning against it, currently in sleep mode. Suddenly Zane's face appeared on the computer's main monitor. Mr Borg smiled and waved, and Zane waved back.

"Hello, Zane, how is everything coming along?" He asked.

" _Very well, thank you, I have been making the body and Pixal has been working on the circuits,"_ Zane responded. " _she has completed the motherboard and the artificial nervous system, she has even attached the circuits, eyes and integrated peripherals to the skull."_

"Pixal has always had a timely working speed, but she tends to work faster when she's especially interested in what she's doing." Cyrus grinned.

" _I cannot help but feel slow in comparison, you would think that the body would be the easiest part, being an exoskeleton,"_ Zane admitted, rubbing his neck. _"but I have never worked with Kevlar-titanium weave before – I didn't even know it existed until Pixal told me about it – and it was harder to work with than I first thought; as such, I have only gotten so far."_

Zane pointed to his right. Cyrus moved past the assembly line to see that beside Pixal, was a plain outer shell and the aforementioned skull. The upper torso and arms were complete, but the lower torso and legs were still being manufactured as they spoke.

" _I am trying to have the entire body finished by the morning,"_ He mentioned. _"well, minus the head anyway – I would like Pixal's opinion on that before I make it."_

"You could take a break you know," Cyrus noted, seeing the assembly arms still up and running. "I'm sure she'd love to see your progress so far."

" _With respect Sir, there are parts of my body which I do not wish her to see yet…"_ Zane said, suddenly looking away, slightly embarrassed.

"Oh? Oh… OH… Yes, I see, my apologies," Cyrus chuckled as he tapped on the shoulder of the half-finished body. "ah, titanium, good choice – we were going to use titanium to build your memorial…"

" _Wow, really?"_ Zane queried. _"I… I did not realise there was a memorial for me."_

"Yes, I imagine Pixal didn't take you to see it; too painful you understand." Cyrus mentioned.

" _It would have been a bit of a shock for me too."_ Zane added.

"She was utterly destroyed by what happened you know," He said, looking at his esteemed assistant who was still in sleep mode. "I didn't think she'd ever break out of that depressed slump she was in… I blame myself for giving her such an advanced AI, I should've known that the ability to feel would backfire eventually."

" _Yes… I cannot tell you how guilty I feel for causing her so much pain,"_ Zane declared, looking down at her with a sad face. The longer he looked at her though, the more his expression softened into one of fondness. _"I have never known anyone like her before, all I want is for her to be as happy as she has made me."_

Cyrus beamed a big sentimental grin.

"You know Zane, Pixal once said to me that, because I created her – gave her life – she felt that she belonged to me; but you saved her life, you made her feel free, and she felt a deep connection to you," He said. "I told her, quite rightly, that she belonged to no one, and that if she wanted to be with you, then that's where she should be."

" _I too noticed a strong connection the first time we met; there was an instant, undeniable attraction,"_ Zane admitted. _"I felt both helpless and invincible all in the same moment."_

"Somehow, I don't think she'll be very happy in this tower once you're back on your feet and leave to be with the other ninja," Cyrus spoke sadly. "therefore, if she wishes to leave and be with you, then you have my blessing – I shall sleep easy knowing I have entrusted her to someone who loves her so much."

A moment of emotional silence passed between them.

" _Could I ask a favour of you Mr Borg?"_ Zane wondered. _"In Pixal's room is a spare uniform of mine; would you bring it here at some point before she wakes up?"_

"Yes of course, presumably for modesty purposes?"

Zane nodded, still looking mildly embarrassed.

"Consider it done." He said with a smile.

* * *

Pixal opened her eyes and almost couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Zane's new body was almost complete, though without the circuits she had been building it was just an empty shell, slumped over and headless. This was not surprising to her. What was surprising, was that this beheaded, hollow body was suddenly wearing a white hakama and not just any hakama – it was Zane's, part of the uniform she kept under her pillow.

She stood up and saw Zane on the computer screen, busying himself with designing his own head.

"You got a lot done while I was hibernating." She said, drawing his attention.

" _Pixal,"_ He smiled. _"I hope you had a good rest."_

"Yes, thank you," She replied. "I do not normally need to go into sleep mode so frequently, but the past week has been… difficult to say the least."

" _I could not help but continue working,"_ He admitted. _"it seemed vital to get this body up and running as soon as possible."_

"I am sorry if I put undue pressure on you," She realised, bowing apologetically. "but I know your friends are grieving, and it was agonising for me – if I could have found out you were still alive even one second sooner, it would have eased my pain."

" _No, you are right, the sooner I can reunite with my team, the sooner everyone's grief will be lessened,"_ Zane agreed, before turning his attention to the head schematics once more. _"well, what do you think?"_

Pixal looked up at the screen.

Zane had redesigned his head to be almost exactly like the original… _almost_. It had the same genial smile and startling blue eyes, the same handsome face, the same hair… oh wait, no, there was definitely something different about the hair. It was the same silvery white colour, sure, and it was the same flat-top style she was familiar with, except the short-back-and-sides was now long and silky, and tied into a lithe, low ponytail.

" _Is it too much?"_ He wondered, knowing that she had yet to make comment on this design change. _"I have often wondered what my hair would look like at this length."_

To say that she was unfazed by this design change would be untrue; her power source pulsed and the purple circuit lines on her face were glowing. She had to admit that this small design change was very flattering on him, even if it was not particularly functional for ninja purposes. Ultimately, that's what had to be considered – once Zane was in his new body, he would re-join the other ninja, and he would need to be able to fight. He looked amazing with long hair, but was it practical for the life of an active fighter?

"Long hair is very becoming on you," She stammered out, her cheeks still flush with admiration. "I for one would love to see you with this style,"

" _Thank you, I quite like it myself,"_ Zane said as he looked over the design. _"but I do not think it is appropriate for fighting, and I would not resemble the memorial statue anymore."_

"Perhaps for now you could keep your hair short, we can always make an attachment piece later," Pixal suggested. "for your days off or for special occasions or-"

" _Or dates?"_ He asked with a sincere grin on his face.

"Yes, that too," She giggled. "you have gotten so much work done on the exoskeleton; I can start attaching the circuits now."

She picked up the motherboard she had completed the day before and approached the half-dressed body. The chest cavity was already open, so she propped the body against the static conveyor belt. A soldering iron protracted from her right forearm. As she held the motherboard in place with her left hand, she soldered the two top corners to pin it to the interior. She moved her hand out of the way and soldered the bottom two corners to secure it properly.

She sat back for a moment and looked at the open slot where his power source was eventually going to go. More than once she had asked herself if this was really happening, if he really had come back or if in her intense grief, she'd fallen into malfunction and was imagining it all. She briefly touched the currently empty space in the motherboard and then put her hand on her chest. No, it must be real – the half of his heart that was inside her did not feel as heavy as it did when she first thought he was dead. As she glanced over to the monitor to watch Zane control the manufacturing arms, she felt the familiar surge of happiness inside her.

Shaking herself out of the deep thought train she was currently riding, she looked at the printed circuit board and sighed. Now came the part she was most worried about – securing the artificial nervous system. Building it was easy, if a bit old-fashioned, as the original draft used a number of small fuse boxes in key places; such was the result of Dr Julien only having spare parts to work with when he originally built Zane.

Pixal had already mapped the nervous system to get the optimum position for every electrode, but there were hundreds of them, and attaching the multitude of electrodes to the different parts of the body was going to take some time. Fortunately, Zane had put access panels into the forearms and shins, that alone was going to make the task so much easier, but she was still massively concerned; one wrong move and she could make his body inoperable for the main purpose of rebuilding it. She took a deep breath and just went for it.

Zane, meanwhile, was waiting for the outer head construction to be finished. He looked over at Pixal and smiled. Despite how well things that turned out, there had been some apprehension as to whether he should've come to her in the first place – only recently the other ninja had previously discussed the unpredictable reactions of women to various situations – she could've become very angry at him for suddenly reappearing a week after he 'died' in the battle with the Overlord. But after going over every variable, every possible scenario, every probable outcome, it all pointed to a positive result.

Frankly, even if there was only a one in a million chance of her being happy to see him, he still would have come to her – he would not have been able to stay away, he _needed_ to see her again.

As he watched her lift the pant legs of the hakama to open the shin panels, it was as if a breath hitched in this throat. Thank goodness he had the foresight to do the more _intimate_ wiring himself last night. It wasn't easy either; the manufacturing arms he was controlling had to be internally recalibrated to allow for more refined and accurate use. Add testing time to the actual recalibrations and it was easily the most time-consuming part of the whole project.

He sighed. He was going to great lengths to maintain his modesty, and he wasn't even sure why – Pixal would treat it as a simple fact of him having a humanoid body, but Zane was more aware of the sociobiological constructs of what it _meant_ to have a humanoid body, and the embarrassment of someone you like seeing such a private part of it...

"Zane?"

" _Yes, Pixal?"_

"It is ready." She said, gesturing to the completed head on the conveyor belt.

" _Oh, yes, thank you."_ He replied.

Pixal walked over to the completed head. She picked it up and took it to the workspace where she had been building the motherboard. It was quite an ominous thing seeing Zane's lifeless face in her hands, and with his eyes closed, he appeared to be sleeping. She put the outer head on the desk and upturned the skull she had finished yesterday.

" _Are you installing the neural processor?"_ He wondered.

"Yes, this is the latest development in neural processing technology – the Genbu 680," She explained, reaching into his skull to place it. "it is such an advanced unit that it has not even been announced to the industry."

" _Are we really allowed to use this?"_

"Mr Borg gave me express permission to use it, if we so desired," She mentioned, pinning the unit to the occipital part of his skull, and connecting it to the other circuits with solder. "and this is one area where I feel confident using a modern equivalent in your new body."

She put the skull the right way up, then moved the head onto its side. She ran her hand through his hair. Admittedly she was looking for the correct place to create a slot for the integrated peripherals on the skull, but the monofilament strands were like silk, distracting her with the luxurious feeling it left on her hands. She was surprised that this kind of technology was on this particular floor, she thought it would have belonged in pharmacology or textile manufacture. Eventually she broke free of her distracted thinking and parted his hair lengthways across the crown. She used a miniature horizontal band saw to cut off a thin piece of the titanium under his hair.

" _Ouch…"_ Zane couldn't help but wince at seeing his own head getting cut into.

"Sorry," Pixal said as she finished cutting. "I had to make an incision for the peripheral unit, now you'll be able to put anything into your processor – SD cards, USB devices, even a second neural hard drive."

["Miss Borg, this is Benson, do you read me, over?"]

She picked up the walkie talkie that Benson had given her. Until that moment she'd actually forgotten all about it.

"Yes, I can hear you loud and clear, over." She replied.

["You have a visitor; can I send them up? Over."]

"I am not supposed to have visitors, no one here is meant to have seen me since the memorial service. Over."

["…Oops… My apologies, but I didn't think it applied to this person. Over"]

"May I ask who it is? Over."

["It's Miss Nya, over."]

Pixal and Zane exchanged a worried look.

"Please ask her to wait downstairs, I will come down, over."

["Understood, over and out."]

She put the talkie down and looked at Zane. He had a distinct look of panic on his face.

"I must go and see her – Nya has been visiting me every day since the Overlord fight, she is the one who brought me your uniform," Pixal asserted. "and since I have been unavailable for two days she will be concerned."

" _Perhaps it would be best if you spoke to her, she might get suspicious otherwise,"_ Zane said. _"she's smart, and we cannot run the risk of her figuring out what is happening."_

"I will be back soon." She promised as she ran over to the elevator and got in.


End file.
